SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE CAMPAIGN Celebrating the Power of Bilingualism Nimco Bulale, MPA Education Program Manager OneAmerica Supporting the Speak Your Language Campaign
WHAT WILL BE DISCUSSED OneAmerica’s work to build a culturally and linguistically responsive school system in partnership with communities • Speak Your Language campaign & website • ELL Workgroup • World Language Credit Program • Seal of Biliteracy • Community Language Organizer (CLO) Program • Dual Language Bill and other advocacy efforts
OUR VISION Build an education system that reflects the strengths and assets of our diverse communities and eliminates disparities.
ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN Advance policies and build systems to embrace, cultivate, and honor bilingualism • as a skill and asset. Disprove “English-only” myths that discourage parents from speaking their native • language with their children. Shift school systems from being English-dominant to valuing language and its • connection to culture and heritage, and promote positive identity for children in schools.
HONORING HOME LANGUAGE: “Speak English AND your home language” “The truth is, we live in an increasingly global society. Speaking another language at home is going to be a huge asset. Not just to the child, not just to the family, but to our country and to our culture.”
THE FACTS ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE Number of students participating in TBIP has increased by 689% from (15,024 to 118,526) in the last 30 years Some of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse school districts in the country More than 180 languages spoken in WA State 48% growth of young DLLs population from 2000-2017
WASHINGTON STATE DEMOGRAPHICS 11.7% of students across WA enrolled in K-12 were English Language Learners 32% of students ages 0-8 in Washington State are Dual Language Learners Most commonly spoken languages aside (from Spanish) in WA State: Russian, Vietnamese, Somali, Chinese, Arabic, Ukranian, Tagalog, Korean, Marshallese, Punjabi
ELL WORK GROUP
LOCAL POLICIES THAT ADVANCE HOME LANGUAGE IN SCHOOLS Highline School District unanimously passed Home Language Campaign Resolution!
STATE LEVEL ADVOCACY - LOBBY DAY IN OLYMPIA
IMPORTANT NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR BILINGUALS High school Expansion of credits toward DL Programs graduation Career Opportunities
“ STATE SEAL OF BILITERACY The Washington State Seal of Biliteracy recognizes public high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in one or more world languages in addition to English. (RCW 28A.300.575)
SEAL OF BILITERACY OUTCOMES Year 5 of implementation Seals awarded in SY 2018 = 1,998 (7,000+ in past 4 years) • 59 languages tested in 81 school districts in Washington • (doubled from 2 years ago)
WORLD LANGUAGE CREDIT PROGRAM World Language Credit program is an elective credits program through which students can receive up to four (4) elective credits for fluency in a non-English language. These credits are used toward graduation and are required by four-year colleges in Washington.
RESULTS “I feel honored. Because that’s my language. I don’t really use it that often. I just use it at home. At school I’m afraid to use it.” -Youcef Ben |speaks Arabic, French, Berber, English
DUAL LANGUAGE LEGISLATION In 2017, we passed SHB 1445 , to expand funding and capacity for dual language programs in early learning and elementary, middle and high schools. In 2019, we EXTENDED dual language program grants and capacity in early learning and K-12 to 2021. This year, we passed SB 5607 in the Senate, but its fate is still undetermined.
DUAL LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS ❏ 55 schools in 24 districts operating DL programs ❏ DL classrooms all throughout the region ❏ DL programs include preservation of Tribal language programs ❏ Need at least 75 bilingual teachers each year to address staffing needs ❏ OSPI predicts the annual need for bilingual educators could triple in 3–5 years
COMMUNITY LANGUAGE ORGANIZER (CLO) PROGRAM
CELEBRATING THE POWER OF BILINGUALISM REPORT
RESOURCES ❏ Speak Your Language Campaign website: http://speakyourlanguage.org/ ❏ Speak Your Language Campaign Flyers in 24 languages ❏ Families and Educator Toolkits
QUESTIONS ?
THANK YOU! Nimco Bulale nimco@weareoneamerica.org
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